Deutsche Grammophon Releases Netrebko’s New Recording In the Still of Night, a Live Recital of Russian Romances with Daniel Barenboim

By -

Over the past several months, American audiences have witnessed Anna Netrebko’s signature portrayal of Mimì in Robert Dornhelm’s feature film version of Puccini’s La bohème. The movie was released in theaters in September, shown as part of PBS’s “Great Performances” series in December, and recently released on DVD. Now the Russian soprano takes the role to the stage for her first run of performances in the Met’s iconic Franco Zeffirelli production of the opera, opening February 20. In April, shortly after Netrebko’s final appearance in the production, Deutsche Grammophon releases the versatile singer’s new feature recording, a live recital album titled In the Still of Night, made with acclaimed pianist Daniel Barenboim at the Salzburg Festival in August 2009. With this disc, her first piano-vocal recording, the Russian soprano focuses on two of her homeland’s principal exponents of art song, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky.

While many of the works featured on In the Still of Night are still relatively unknown in the Western world, the recording is a natural follow-up to Netrebko’s Grammy-nominated Russian Album (2007), which features highlights and rarities from the Russian operatic and orchestral song repertoire. In its review of the live recital at the Salzburg Festival on August 17, 2009, the Süddeutsche Zeitung observed: “At the end, the entire audience in the Grosses Festspielhaus was on its feet, showering ovations on the singer… . What a wonderful concert!” Die Welt also praised the performance, noting the “fullness and melting warmth of Anna Netrebko’s soprano and the artistry in her phrasing.” Musical America’s George Loomis, who was also on hand to review the concert, wrote: “It was a pleasure to encounter the star soprano in Russian repertoire, especially with so accomplished a partner, with whom she had a fine rapport. This was, incredibly, the first recital of her professional career, but the lovely voice takes very well to the song repertoire... . Netrebko’s ability to project the essence of a song resulted in much to enjoy.”

Netrebko will reprise the Salzburg Festival recital program, first on March 23, with Daniel Barenboim’s wife, pianist Elena Bashkirova, in Moscow, next on March 26 in St. Petersburg, and then with Barenboim himself at the Berlin State Opera on March 29.

Back on the opera stage, Anna Netrebko will return to the Vienna State Opera in April to portray a quartet of favorite opera characters – Mimì in La bohème, Elvira in I puritani, the title role in Manon, and Micaela in Carmen – over a period of just six weeks. She will end the season performing in a new production of Massenet’s Manon at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Comments

Carlos said…
Just a small correction... Anna's recital in Berlin with Barenboim will be at the Philarmonie, not at the Staatsoper
March 14, 2010 at 3:16 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Role of Music in Opera

By -
There are numerous books on the topic, and every composer, librettist, director, singer and audience member has their opinion as to what role the music should play in an opera. In a play without music, the words ought to support the meaning behind a character's actions. However, in the case of action movies, often times the action is what tells the story and there aren't words, just images to forward the plot. We might hear music to accompany action, build tension, but the action tells the story. Musicals tend to speak until the emotion of the moment just "has" to break out in song - unless it's something like "Mama Mia" where the dialog is the rails we travel on between songs; the songs themselves, written before the concept of the musical, are the focus of the production, while the story is secondary. Operas are a different beast. The music provides emotion to the words spoken, but it also plays the role of ambience when there is only action. In ...
Read more

Episode 210b: Joyeuse le départ

By -
Image
Podcast:  Play in new window  |  Download Subscribe:  Apple Podcasts  |  Android  |  Google Play  |  Stitcher  |  TuneIn  |  RSS Provost Cunningham has Transmigrated, but to where! What is Dr Sage going to do with his body? And how can she bring home her friends, Abigail and Erasmus, without also bring home Cunningham? What are they going to say when they find the “skeleton” she’s hiding in her closet? Cast: Eddie Louise Clark  as Dr Sage Chip Clark  as Professor Savant Justin Bremer  as the Narrator Emily Riley Piatt  as Abigail Entwhistle, Calypso & Dean Stewart Written by  Eddie Louise Theme music by  Unwoman Sound Design by  Chip Michael
Read more

Teaching Composition – What are we trying to achieve

By -
In the process of learning composition I have spent time with a number of instructors who have encouraged me to write twelve-tone, pitch-class, electro-acoustic and other forms of experimental techniques. No matter how much I might understand and appreciate the work of other composers in the genres, these are not forms of music I resonate with. They are simply not forms of music I listen to and I struggle with the idea of writing them. However, in a Master Class by Libby Larsen she made the comment, “Learn them all, because all forms of music have something to offer.” This I very much agree. There are elements of each of the above mentioned forms (and others) that I do resonate with. Berg’s Violin Concerto is a beautiful twelve-tone work, although it is possible to look at numerous sections of the music with a “tonal” analysis. Another composer friend, Gary Bachlund commented that using these techniques can narrow the choices for how to compose a piece of work. If you look at ...
Read more